


You Give Me Peace of Mind

by BastardLady



Category: Inn Between (Podcast)
Genre: I Want Them To Be Happy And Gay And Look At Pretty Stars Together, I Wrote This In Thirty Minutes And Didn't Proofread It, I just want them to be happy, M/M, My Boys Deserve This, Sterling Has A Crush, Their Love Flows Through My Veins And Gives Me Life, actual boyfriends, let them hold hands
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-18
Updated: 2020-03-18
Packaged: 2021-03-01 05:21:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,001
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23200069
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BastardLady/pseuds/BastardLady
Summary: Whipped up some fluff because it made me happy. Enjoy.
Relationships: Melting - Relationship, Meltyre/Sterling Whitetower
Comments: 4
Kudos: 16





	You Give Me Peace of Mind

Sterling Whitetower had never liked excess noise. The world could always be a bit too much to handle, and right now all he wanted to do was rest.

  
The rest of his party, however, seemed insistent on doing the exact opposite. Fina played her guitar and sang an upbeat shanty about victory. The rest of them clapped along, laughing and swaying. Sterling was happy for them. But it was a bit much. He could feel the edges of his mind prickling slightly more and more every time they clapped, or his eyes closing tightly any time Fina struck a chord particularly aggressively.

  
He made his excuses and walked to the woods.

  
Sterling walked for a long time; long enough that the glow of the fire had to feign strength, and far enough that the sound of the river drowned out Fina’s ditty. He walked in silence, focussing on the trail the moon had kindly blazed for him and listening to the genial hymn of night birds. His mind felt smooth, now. Calm. This was lovely, he thought.

  
“Hey, Sterling?”

  
He turned around to see Meltyre jogging towards him, “Meltyre?”

  
“I, uh, wanted to see if you were okay.”

  
“Oh. Why?”

  
Meltyre looked taken aback, though Sterling couldn’t quite figure out why, “You looked kinda shaken back there and then you left abruptly. I was worried.”

  
“Oh. I see.”

  
“Yeah.”

  
“I’m doing well, then. Thank you, Meltyre.”

  
“Okay.”

  
They walked a few more paces, before --

  
“You can leave now, Meltyre.”

  
“Can I walk with you for a little while?”

  
They said it at the same time, and Sterling looked just as startled by Meltyre’s proposal as Meltyre did apprehensive of Sterling’s statement.

  
Sterling spoke first.

  
“Of course you can walk with me.”

  
“Okay.”

  
Sterling felt somewhat obliged to say something, but he didn’t know what to say, and he couldn’t tell if Meltyre was even keen on a conversation anyhow. So he resigned to just walking.

  
They walked and walked and walked without saying a word. Under most normal circumstances, Sterling would have felt cumbersome for his reticence. But in his furtive glances to Meltyre, he felt more at ease. Meltyre, who stared intently at the ground and occasionally chanced a look at the night sky. Meltyre, who absentmindedly picked at the wool thread that held his patches in place. Meltyre, whose soft passive smile was a delightful thing that Sterling almost felt guilty for seeing. He looked peaceful. He looked beautiful.

  
As they walked, as the refuge of quietude washed over them, Sterling was reminded that he felt no less tranquility around Meltyre than he did alone with his thoughts.  
They walked until they reached a slice of land that meandered out into the river. Meltyre walked up to the edge of it and stared through the canopy of trees at the sky. Sterling didn’t know what to do besides join him.

  
“When I was in the Circle of the Greenish Fire, my favorite lessons were about stars.”

  
“Ah, yes. Astronomy. I was quite apt when-”

  
“Sterling?”

  
“Yes?”

  
“Could I just talk, please?” Meltyre asked gently.

  
“Oh,” Sterling subconsciously took a step back, guilt dashing his attention, “of course.”

  
Meltyre tilted his head graciously and continued, “My favorite lessons were about stars because of what they mean to different people. Some cultures worship stars as gods. Some people use them to find their way across entire seas. Some folks say that they control our destinies. That they’re these glorious, all-powerful entities that hold us in the palm of their hand,” Meltyre turned to look at Sterling and chuckled thoughtfully, “I don’t think I believe any of that. I think stars are just pretty twinkling lights in the sky.”

  
Meltyre tilted his head back up and Sterling took a moment to drink him in.

  
“But just because they aren’t almighty, divine beings, or just because they don’t dominate us, or just because they’re these neat little sparkles that don’t mean anything, doesn’t make them any less stunning. That they’re not the puppeteers for the grand scheme doesn’t make them any less captivating or meaningful. And they certainly mean a lot to me.”

  
Sterling stepped out to Meltyre and joined him. From this angle, they could see the sky more clearly. With less trees obstructing their view, the milky way was clear as day. Stars smiled down at them. Planets shone brightly. The moon invited them.

  
“When I lived on the farm, I could go all the way out to the middle of the fields and see the whole night sky. It was beautiful. We would bundle up and lay down on blankets and sit there for ages. We would have contests to see how many shooting stars we could spot. Seri always won,” Meltyre laughed softly, “and when I was with the circle, I’d go out and stare at the sky for hours at night. I felt really lonely there, and the stars were a respite. And on trips like these, when we’re in danger or when we’re far away from anything familiar, I find solace at night. Because I can always look up and find comfort in knowing that we’re right here. We’re home, even when we aren’t. We’re safe, even when we aren’t. And it’s that charm, that wonder, that marvel, that makes me feel okay.”

  
Sterling looked down at Meltyre, who was now looking up at him, and felt a tinge of some foolish emotion seep into his stomach and up through his chest.

  
“And you know what? You make me feel like that, Sterling.”

  
Sterling usually had so many words flirting with the tip of his tongue, and yet now he found himself wordless. So instead of speaking, he reached his hand out and laced his fingers through those willowy of Meltyre. And then when Meltyre sat on the uprooting of barely-damp dirt at the edge of the water, and when he layed down gingerly and looked up at the heavens, their hands interwoven, Sterling followed suit stilly.


End file.
